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Isabel's Story

There are few things more shocking than the words "your child has cancer." You may be feeling anxious and overwhelmed. It's important to remember that those words are not the end but are part of a journey that can lead to hope and health. At Children’s National Health System, we offer comprehensive, specialized, and long-term care for children battling cancer.

Pediatric Cancer Program: Why Choose Us

Our childhood cancer experts combine the latest treatments with a compassionate touch. Features of our oncology program include:

Specialized care. Our cancer team includes specialists in different types of cancers. In fact, our oncology department contains separate sub-departments for three different types of common childhood cancers: solid tumors, leukemia/lymphoma, and brain tumors. This level of specialization is unique in the region.

Experience. Our comprehensive cancer program diagnoses and cares for more patients each year than all the other metro area hospitals combined. That volume translates into a high level of experience and expertise for our team.

Access to clinical trials. Families come from around the region, country and even the world to participate in some of the innovative clinical trials happening at our facility. Through these trials, our patients have access to the newest drugs for treating cancer. Children’s National is one of fewer than two dozen hospitals in the country participating in Children’s Oncology Group’s (COG) Phase I trials. Learn more about clinical trials and experimental therapeutics.

Long-Term Follow-Up Clinic (LTFU). Thanks to innovative treatments and skilled specialists, childhood cancer survivors are living longer than ever, with a high quality of life. Our LTFU clinic works with patients well after treatments have ended. We follow children through adolescence and young adulthood, helping them manage any complications from their cancer treatment.

Full spectrum of care. From the initial diagnosis through treatment and follow up, we provide all the cancer care services your child and family need. Our treatment options include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. Learn more about oncology surgery.

Specialized Cancer Care for Children

We are proud to have some of the world’s leading experts in solid tumor, leukemia/lymphoma and brain cancer right here at Children’s National. Our cancer-specific programs focus on providing comprehensive, personalized care for each child. All staff members of each program are experts in treating patients with that exact cancer type. Learn more about:

Experts in Pediatric Genetics and Oncology

Our team is a leader in the recognition and care of patients with newly recognized cancer predisposition syndromes. A person with a cancer predisposition syndrome is at an increased risk to develop cancer sometime in his lifetime. A genetic counselors, pediatric oncologist as well as geneticists and clinical geneticists are available for families and individuals who may be:

Children with cancer

Children with a past history of cancer

Children with early onset cancer and rare forms of cancer

Children with a family history of cancer

Parents of a child with cancer

Couples who want to learn more about the risks to their other children or future children

Some individuals have no family history of cancer and may be the first person in his or her family with a cancer predisposition syndrome. Oftentimes this is due to a new mutation in that individual. When an individual has a cancer predisposition syndrome it does not mean that the person will definitely develop cancer, only that the risks of cancer is greater than that seen in the general population.

The genetic counseling process involves reviewing a family’s medical history to better understand the types of cancer and pattern of inheritance in a family, and to determine whether an individual and family may be at risk for cancer predisposition syndrome.

During the genetic counseling session, our specialists educate patients and their family members about the specific cancer syndrome in question, how it is inherited, and who in the family may be at risk. The discussion includes available testing options, explore the pros and cons of genetic testing, and whether testing is the most appropriate course of action for the family. Depending on the medical findings, a consultation may also involve an evaluation by a geneticist.

Families should understand that genetic tests are different from other blood tests. Insurance preauthorization (approval) is usually necessary before testing. Once obtained, the testing process may take a few weeks to a few months, depending on the specific test being performed. When test results become available, a follow-up consultation is scheduled to review the meaning of the results and to develop an appropriate plan of care.

Meet Debbie Freiburg

Debbie Freiburg is the Director for Medical Nursing and Patient and Family Education Program. She has been at Children's since 1978, joining the team as a staff nurse on the Hematology and Oncology unit.